mitchell



APPLICATION FILED MAY 10, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

Patented Nov.

J. E. MITCHELL.

BOLL BREAKING AND COTTON SEPARATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 10. 19H].

Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

" measurement, or s'r'. Louis; MISSOURI;

Bonn-BREAKING AND COTTONT-SEPARFATING MACHINE.

To all whom may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN E. MITCHELL, a citizen of the United States, residing inthecity of St. Louis: and State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in- Boll-Breaking and Cotton-Separating Machinesyof' whichthe following is a specification. t

intothe breaking chamber,

This invention relates to boll breaking and cotton separating machines, and has for its general object to provide a simple and efli'cient arrangementand coordinationof mechanism, whereby the cotton andhulls may beseparated from each other with greater rapidity and'efiiciency than has heretofore characterized" machines of this typepat'ented to' me and which are now extensive commercial use.

To appreciate more fully,the-principle ofoperation underlying the present invention, it is important to keepin ,mindjthe fact that there is considerable difier'ence in the toughness or brittleness of the boll hulls fed and also as much difference in the sizes of the individual looks or wads of cotton, and in the character of the fiber-of the cotton; The difference in the toughness of the bolls makes it necessary for the beaters in the breaking chamber to-act more onsomethan on others, in order to break the hulls apart. The difference in the size of the locks or wads. of cotton, and in the character of the fiber of the cotton contained inthe bolls, makesquite a difference in the way the saw teeth take hold of the same.- In the-case of asmall hard wad or look of'cotton, the kicker rollknocks it off of the saw teeth, the action of the kicker roll in this respect being similar to its action in knocking back hulls carried up by the saws with the cotton. As will be developed more fully later on, my present invention is designed to secure high efficiency in operation notwithstanding the ad verse conditions arising from lack of uniformity inthe' product treated. in the particulars above noted. In addition to the high etliciency secured, my present machine'also possesses a fewer' number of parts and is-smaller in size, and hence more veconomical to build and operate than any of' the prior machines of my. invent-ion;

Specification of Letters Patent. PateI ltedNO V. 25,1919- Application-fil'edMay 10, 1918. Serial No. 233,663;

In allsuch prior machines, and I should also include" in this category machines and improvements: of Dennis Parks, either no means at all have been provided for repeated treatment in the breaking chamber of tough:

bolls, or of looks, or wads of cotton, which may not have been broken, or sufliciently loosened up, respectively, in the breaking chamber or else special mechanism hasbeen provided for insuring. the withdrawal of the cotton and hulls from the breaking chamber only after the bolls have been completely broken up, or the cotton locks and wads sufiiciently loosenedup.

, Examples of machines which provide for only'one breaking operation on the'bolls are shown for example in my prior'Patents No.

1,030,913, dated July 2, 1912, and No.

1,129,220,-dated February 28, 1915.

An example of a machine in which means are: provided for repeated action of the beaters 1n the breaking chamber upon the:

cotton and bolls, and for the positive withdrawal of the cotton-and hulls from the breaking chamber only after the complete breaking up of the bolls and loosening up of the cotton locks and wads has been ef fected is shown in the pending application of Dennis Parks, Serial No. 223,134, filed ,March 18, 191 8.-

lnthe former class of machines, thereisalways present the liability of tough, 'llllbroken bolls and wads or looks of cotton, neither of which can be engagedv by the teeth of the saws, accumulating in theworking chamber and clogging up the machine. I

In the latter, or Parks type of machine, while there is a vast improvement in the direction of uniformly breaking up the bolls and loosening up the cotton wads or locks, the complete loosening up of all of the wads and locks of cotton is not assured, so that there is still present the liability to clog the working chamber above referred to, although in diminished proportion; and in the withdrawal of the cotton and hulls from the breaking chamber by the picker roll, there ensues more or less crushing of the hulls between the blades of the picker roll and the gate or valve which controls the size" tween them and the'cotton as will be readily V understood.

In neither type of machine above referred to is any provision made forthe return of any unbroken bolls, or of any'of the hard looks or wads of cotton after they have once passed from the breaking chamber into the occurs. 7 ,7

Thus, in all such prior machines, what ever the character of the mixed product discharged into the Working chamber: tobe acted upon by the separating mechanism, it was substantially necessary to deal with the product'as such, and, as aboveindicated,

no means was provided for returning to the breaking chamber any part of such product which was not in the proper condition to be acted upon by the separating mechanlsm.

Whilethe disadvantages in operation incident to the prior commercial machines above referred to are only'relatively serious, as ma-.

chines of this type are well recognized commercial successes, being, 111 fact, so'far as I am aware, the only 'machines of this character in general use; still, any improvement which will insure a more perfect sep-' aration of the cotton and hulls, and the recovery of a larger amount of the cotton, 1s

' of great importance, as it insures the operv ator a hlgher price for the cotton owing to come and the objects to be attained in the v V cleaning and separatlon of cotton, as above its clean condition,'and a greaterreturn at a stated price, owing to the increase in. the yield of cotton. 1 a

r Having in mind the objections to be overset' forth, my present invention is characterized by the facts that the boll breaking ;chamber is indirect, operative communica- -tionwith the working chamber, the boll breaker, kicker roll, andsaw cylinder are so arranged and relatively disposed, thatjthe saw cylinder is in the range'and line of V throw of the breaking cylinder, the breaking cylinder isin the range and line of throw of r zone'of operation for these parts;

the kicker roll and the saw cylinder, and that the working chamber afiords a common Under such an arrangement, unbroken bolls,or hard wads orlocks of cotton, thrown into the working chamber by the breaking cylinder, will be knocked back into the breaking chamber for further treatment either by; the kicker roll or the saw cylinder.

On the other hand, the wadsor locks of cotton, after further treatment,.will be thrown by 'the breaking cylinder with considerable force against the saw cylinder, whichaction will tend to facilitate the engagement of the teeth of the saws. with said looks or wads of cotton; so that, even though-the latter may not have been entirely loosened up by the beaters of the breaking cylinder, in their partially reduced" condition, {be engaged by the saw teeth and be completely loosened up by the cooperative action of the saw cylinder and kicker roll.

The importance of having the opposed working sides orthesaw cylinderand break-l V a ing cylinder move in opposite directions will working chamber,in which latter the operation of separating the cotton'fromthe hullsv be atonce'a'pparent, as otherwise the reciprocalnactionbetween these two parts would not be possible. A great advantage results from having thegbreaking cylinder posi-. tioned and rotating ina direction to throw the wadsor locksaof cotton against the teeth of the saws,- for the: purposeofforcing by, impactthe cotton against-the pointsof, the saw teeth, as this eliminates the necessity of the kicker roll returning small wadsor locks of cotton to the breaking chamber to be opened" outvas; often asfwould be necessary if such wads or looks were not driven with so much force against the-teeth ofthe saws.

they may a The force of impact by which; the-cotton is thus made to adhere to the teeth of the saws is, of course, not suflicient to cause the hulls to stick to theteeth of the saws, and the latter arefree to fall; through theoutlet open- I:

ing provided for that purpose if,oor when, freed from cotton.

Such an arrangement, and operation of partsiinsures that there shall beno choking up of the machine, for thereason-that the unbroken bolls and, the: hard wads or looks of cotton =cannot remaing in th e working chamber, but, in thief'operationjof the ma-' chine, they will be knocked either ,by the kicker roll orthe sawcylinder, back intothe breaking chamber for; further action by, the breaking cylinden, 7

The accomp anyinw best embodimentof to me.,. V In saiddrawings;r

drawingsfillustratef the F igurel is;a iew in side elevationsofga a 110 machine constructed according tomyinfvent1on,and-. r V F 1g. 21s a central'ver-ticalrsectlonaliview,

the inventionnow known looking fromftheoppositessideof the ma;

chine to thatshown in Fig-.1. ,p o; 7

f Referring now=to these drawings, the

numeral lindicates, generally, "the casing'ofv 5 the machine, the top thereof, in; which are rotatably mountedfeed rolls3. Located immediatelybelow the. feed rolls 3,, and communicating with theinterior of thehopper; 2, is a ci r cular breaking chamber l, the bottom portion' of which is in the form of a sieve 5,'inf which breaking'chamber is rotatably mount ed a boll-breaker 6, comprising a cylinder- 7 provided on opposite; sides with a row of,

pivoted beaters'S; I V v v .At the'upper forwardsideof the breaking chamber there is provided a transverse. shoulder or ledge 8 against which the bolls and 2, a hopper provided at H will be thrown by the beaters 8, which action tends to assist breaking them up. However, the action of the beaters 8 is largely that'of impact with the bolls, and the breaking action is not confined to throwing the bolls against the shoulder 8*. Such action is merely assisted by this shoulder, which so to speak, acts as a stationary breaker. The

. breaking chamberl; is provided on its inner side with 'an open ng 9 which is in direct communication with a space 10 substantially inclosed on three 1 sides by a saw' cylinder 11, a kicker roll 12, and a valve 13. The space 10 is adapted to receive cotton and hulls from the breaking chamber 4 to be subjected to the separating action of the saw cylinder and kicker roll, and is hereinafter referred to as the working chamber. The valve 13 may be in the form of a board, and is mounted at its upper end'ron a bar. 14: which is pivotally mounted at its ends in the end walls of the machine, and is adapted to be turned through the medium of a crankarm 15 and a rod 16 connected to the lower end thereofand passing through the front of the machine, to. adjust the valve toward and from the saw cylinder, whereby to regulate the size of an outlet 17, communicating with the working chamber 10 and providing a means of escape. for hulls therefrom. The numeral 18 indicates a dofier brush for re moving cotton from the saw cylinder, said brush revolving within a casing 19, part of which is in theform of a sieve 20. I The sieves 5 and 20, as is well understood, permit a certain amount of refuse andflirt to be separated from the cotton. The numeral 21 indicates a conveyer mounted in a trough 22 at the bottom of the machine, 1 into which latter the hulls fall afterpassing through the .outlet 17 and are discharged by said conveyer through an opening 23.,

It will be seen from an inspection of the drawing that the boll breaker and saw cylinder are located opposite each other, that there 'is a' free or uninterrupted space be tween them, which space communicates with the breaking chamber 1 through the opening 9, and that the said space is substantially inclosed, or confined, by the working sides of the boll breaker 6, the kicker roll 12, the saw cylinder 11 and the valve 13'. As indicated by the arrows, the boll breaker, kicker roll and saw cylinder all rotate in the same direction, so that their opposing faces move in opposite directions to each other.

Further, the positions of the saw cylinder and kicker roll relative to the breaking cylinder and chamber, and the distance separating these parts, are such that unbroken bolls, and hard wads or looks of cotton, may readily be knocked by the kicker roll or the saw cylinder into the breaking chamber; while, on the other hand, pieces of hull may be practically thrown through the outlet 17 and wads or locks of cotton be thrown by said beaters with considerable force against the saw cylinder. Driving mechanism for rotating the feed rolls 3' is not shown, as such operation may be performed in the usual or any desired way. The preferred form of driving the remaining elementsof the machine is illustrated in'Fig. 1, and will be briefly described. i

r A driving pulley (not shown) is mounted on the shaft 24 of the doifer roll. On one end of this shaft is a pinion 25 which is in mesh with a gear 26 on one end of the shaft by the heaters,

27 of the saw cylinder. The shafts 28'of the kicker roll, 29 of the boll breaker, and 30 of the conveyer 21, are each provided on one end with a pulley, indicated, respectively, by the numerals 31, 32, and 33. A belt tightening ulley 3 1 is mounted on a stub shaft 35. gver the pulleys named passes an endless belt 86, having in its various laps the directions of movement indicated by the arrows; As will be seen, thefsaw cylinder is rotated by the gear connection 25, 26, and the other rotatable members are driven by means of the beltand pulley arrangement described.

In the operation of the machine, when the material is fed into the breaking chamber by the feed'rolls 3, the bolls that are'brittle enough are instantly broken, or opened up by the action of the heaters 8, the'cotton contained in the same released, and the hulls separated from each other; so that, when the .miXed hulls and cotton are thrown through the opening 9 into the working chamber 10, the hulls may at once fall through the opening 17, or be thrown through said opening by the impact of the beaters 8, and the released cotton be engaged by the saw teeth and carried through under neath the kicker roll to be removed from the saws by thedolfer brush, whence it passes to the gin. g

In case any particular lock or wad of cotton, when disengaged. from the hulls by the beaters, loosened up enough so that the saw teeth can thoroughly engage it, the kicker roll operates to knock it back into the breaking chamber, where it is again carried around by the beaters and more thoroughly loosened up, and then thrown by the beaters against the saw teeth. resulted in loosening up the lock sufficiently for it to be engaged by the saw,'the opera tion just described is repeated until the teeth of the saws can get sufiicienthold on the cotton to carry it through underneath the kicker roll, where hulls and tight wads of cotton can not pass. I V

I claim has not been opened out or' If this operation has not iis 1. In a machine of the class described, a

rotary boll breaker, a saw cylinder and a kicker roll surrounding 111 part a working 7 kicker roll surrounding in part a common a saw-cylinder mounted with its Working chamber for receiving the'cotton and hulls, sa dv chamber providing a common zone of operation for-said breaker, cylinder and roll,

andan outlet for hulls leading past said saw cylinder and communicating with said chamber. I p

2; ,In a machine of theclass described, a

rotary boll breaker, asaw cylinder and a;

kicker roll surrounding in part a working chamber for receiving the cotton and hulls,

. saidvchamber providing a common zoneor" operation for said breaker, cylinder and roll, 7 and a valve defining, with said saw cylinder, the size of an outlet for hulls from said chamber. 1 i q I 8. In. amachine of the class described, a'

V rotary ,boll breaker, a saw cylinder and'a communication with said breakingchamber, 1 whereby, 1n operatlomthe materlal treated 35 kicker roll-surrounding inpart awOrking chamber for recelvlngthe cotton and hulls, sa d chamber PIOVlClll'lg a common zone of operation for said breaker, cylinder and roll,

and an adjustable valve defining catingwith said chamber and providing a .wayof escape for hulls therefrom. Y

may be thrown from one chamber into the other, and a valve defining with fsaidsa'w cylinder the size of an on said working chamber.'

5. In a'machine of the class described, a

rotary boll-breaker,r a saw cylinder and a working chamber for receiving cotton and hulls,-.'s'a1d boll-breaker and saw cyl nder having their opposed sides rotating in opipo site directions, and ;a valve defining with said saw cylinder the size of an outlet for hulls from said working chamber. 6, In amaehlne of the class descr bed,"a

breaking chamber. having an opening, a rotaryboll-breaker mounted in said chamber,

side facing said openingat a distance therefrom, and rotating in the opposite direction to the working side of said boll-breaker, a kicker roll located above and cooperating withsaid saw cyl nder, the size of an outlet communi tlet for hulls from with the saw-cylinder, the constructionpro-v eVldlIlg a free clearance space between'the v bollbreaker and the saw cylinder and kicker roll, respectively, and a'valvedefining with said saw, cylinder the size of an outlet com municating with saidclearance space.

. 7.111 a'machine of the class described, a

V rotary boll breaker, a' saw cylinderand a kicker roll surroundmgn part: a common working chamber for receiving cotton. and

hulls, said boll breaker and saw cylinder having their opposed sides rotating in "oppo site "directions on opposite 1 sides vTof said chamber and being in the range and-line of throw of each 'other,j and a valve defining with Said Saw y d r the size, Of an outlet.

for hulls from said working chamber.

:8.'In a machine of the classdescribed,aff breaking chamberhav ng an opening,a rotary boll breaker mounted 1n said chamber,-

a saw cylinder mounted with its working side facing said opening at a distance therefrom, and work ng 1n theop poslte directlon to the working side of said boll breaker, and

a kicker roll located 'abo e" and; cooperating with the saw cylinder, the constructlon m viding a freeclearance space between :the

jboll breaker and'the saw cylinder an'dkicker' roll, respectively, and said saw cylinder and breaking cylinder being'in the range and line of throw ofeach other through said opening,fand avalve defining with said saw cylinder the sizeof an outlet forhulls from said clearance space; V

9. In a machine of the class descrlbed, a

breaking chamber having an opening, a r otarry boll breaker mounted 1n said chamber, a saw cyllnder mounted with lts-working side facingsaid opening at ,a distance therev from, and 'rotatingin the opposite direction to the working side of said boll breaker, and Y a kicker roll'located above and cooperating withthe saw cylinder, the eonstruction'prd' viding a free clearance space between. the.

boll breakerand' the saw cylinder andkicker roll, respectively, and said saw cylinder and kicker roll on the one hand,.and the breaking cylinder on the other, being intherange and line of throw of eachother through said opening, and a valve defining with saidfsaw cylinder the size of an outlet for hulls from said clearance space. .1 V

' In testlmonywhereof I have hereunto set my hand,

, J OHN E. MITCHELL. 

